


(ir)rational fear

by ephemeralstar



Series: maybe sprout wings [3]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Gen, Sign Language, just a snapshot piece with no real plot, mute character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 09:17:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19104175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralstar/pseuds/ephemeralstar
Summary: Despite having been with the party for three years, Nel still tends to keep to himself. Yin, at the very least, is trying to include him.





	(ir)rational fear

**Author's Note:**

> yin got adopted by a murder child in today's session. set 3 years after the current moment in the campaign.
> 
> the sign language used is auslan.

Nel's never been one for sunshine; he burns far too easily and refuses to wear a hat, it's easier to just sleep through the day. Sometimes he disappears for days on end, but Yin never worries; if he wants to come back, he will, and if he doesn't, well he's a survivor if nothing else, and in the end, he  _does_ always come back. Sunrise is usually the only time of daylight Yin sees the boy, usually looking a little tired around the eyes, coming to drop in for a drink or just some company; why he picked Yin to stick by, the half-orc could never fathom. 

The boy is almost fifteen, bone white and as pale as straw. He's made a home for himself in the tavern, or well, made a hole in the roof of the tavern, squirrelling himself away in the attic amid the insulation until Rook took pity on him and fashioned him a trap door with a ladder. He likes having his own space, away from the general crowds, and though Yin's far too big to fit in his attic room, from what Nel tells him, it's comfortable, and he's even decorated it with trinkets and knicknacks that Yin's willing to bet he stole. He wouldn't begrudge the child, he's not a hypocrite. Compared to when they'd first met, the boy's looking less sickly, still thin as a rake, but he's developing hard, wiry muscles from the jobs he still takes, and he's even got a bit of softness around his face that Yin's quietly thankful to Havoc and his wonderful cooking for. Yin doesn't say it, but it eases something in his chest to see the boy healthy. 

"I'm thinking of taking a trip." Yin tells him. It's raining this particular morning, and Nel's sprawled out in the cushioned chair that Yin won't  _say_ he got for the boy despite the fact that no-one else uses it. Nel yawns, but makes no other acknowledgement of Yin. "Have you ever been out on the ocean?" Yin asks. There's a long moment of silence where Nel turns and gives an unimpressed look to him, "watch the attitude," Yin warns, "a simple no would have sufficed."

Raising his left hand in a fist, he presses the pointer finger of his right hand to his left wrist, and turns his left fist sharply towards Yin.  _ **No**_ **.** His lips are pressed into a thin, exasperated line. Yin gives a weary smile of his own before bringing his right hand up, palm flat as he touched his fingers to his chin and lowered his hand again.  ** _Thank you_. **

"You're welcome to join me, if that'd be to your interest." He's still looking out at the ocean, at the boats along the waterfront and the rain trickling down from the sky; this isn't his doing, though he appreciates it all the same. After a moment, Nel clears his throat to get Yin's attention; Nel's hands do a series of complicated movements, flicks and gestures and motions, all of which Yin follows easily.

**_You haven't even told me where you're going_.**

Yin pauses, before linking his pinkies together for a moment, and then touching his left pointer finger to his right, then to his thumb.  ** _Ocean_. **He follows it with a pointed nod towards the waterfront, and Nel's gaze follows his.

"I could teach you to sail." Yin offers, but Nel's quick to shrug, to follow it up with a noncommittal noise, his nose scrunched a little. Yin has to smile at that, and a crack of thunder goes off somewhere nearby. Nel snickers, pointing to the sky, and then to Yin himself.

**_That you?_ **

Yin just shakes his head, leaning back in his chair, letting his eyes fall closed, after a moment, the scars running down his face begin to glow gently as the wind picks up, though it's barely noticeable. A fork of lightning streaks through the air, and a clap of lightning like boulders crashing together in a landslide rings out through the sky. When Yin opens his eyes he's smiling, self satisfied, and Nel just rolls his eyes, tapping his right hand to his forehead and shaking his hand twice away from his face.  ** _Show off_**. Yin's just smiles, before nodding towards the docks once more, signing  ** _ocean_  **again, this time as a question.

Nel makes a face, surprisingly uncertain, before lifting his right pointer finger into the air, gesturing back and forth with it, trying to turn his expression into something confused rather than something that could be construed as vulnerable.  _ **Now?**_

Yin knows the boy's not weak, knows the boy fears very little, but like all of those who had spent their whole lives on land, he had a very reasonable fear of a storm on open waters, and Yin knew that if he wanted the boy to continue to trust him, continue to consider the tavern a sanctuary, then he couldn't compromise the way the boy saw him, couldn't force him into choppy waters when he didn't need to. 

"Not now; when the sky is clear," Yin assures, and Nel's expression broke into a tentative smile; how long had he been with them, and yet his smile, his true smile, was still so rare. As Yin looked away, Nel made a gesture, quick, so quick the half-orc almost missed it; the fingers of his open, right hand pressed to his chin before lowering them;  ** _thank you_.**

"Of course, my boy," Yin's voice is warm, and he settles back into his chair. "We could go anywhere, you know? There's a world beyond this city, beyond this coast, away from dragons and assassins and idiot rogues-" Nel laughs at that, smile bright, though he hides it behind his hand, "I've seen it; there's forests taller than cities, entire continents made of ice," he paused for a beat, eyes glazing over a little as he got lost in his own words, "you can find Gods out there, my boy, and moments in the middle of the ocean when you're closer to the moon than you are to civilisation-" Nel's hands are moving fast again, snapping the half-orc from his daze, and though Yin misses the first word, he catches the general gist of what the boy was signing.

**_But you've still got a crew?_ **

"Yes, but I wouldn't call them civilised." Smiling sharply, Yin keeps his gaze on the young elf ward he's found himself rather fond of. "Have you ever left the city? Where do you want to go?" He asks, and for a moment, Nel hesitates, tucks a strand of his long, blonde hair behind his ear. Tentatively, his hands start moving, though he avoids Yin's gaze.

**_I like it here. I don't know where else I'd go, I wouldn't know what to expect._ **

"I can show you the whole world, my boy, but I promise I'll always bring you back."


End file.
